Thursday, 7 February 2013

Have They Found the Tomb and Treasure?

This is why I’m cautioning about premature celebration over the enthusiasm of the
current search team and their statements about the possible discovery of the
tomb.Although the reasoning of today’s team seems solid and their evidence is encouraging, below are the news reports from 2004 about another group. That joint team of Japanese and Mongolian archaeologists was mistaken.

From
China.org.cn (2004)-

Was Genghis' Tomb Been
Found?

“After
four years' work, a joint team of Japanese and Mongolian archaeologists
announced on October 4 that they had found what they believe to be the true
mausoleum of Genghis Khan (1162-1227).

The
ruins, dated to between the 13th and 15th century, were found at Avraga, around
250 kilometers east of Ulan Bator, the capital of the People's Republic of
Mongolia. Team members said that they expect the discovery to provide clues to
the whereabouts of the khan's actual burial site, which they believe may be
within 12 kilometers of the mausoleum.

There
is a preexisting mausoleum in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, rebuilt
by the government in 1954. Most historians agree that Genghis Khan died in 1227
when going out to battle in the Liupan Mountains in today's Ningxia Hui
Autonomous Region, but they do not agree on where he was buried.

The
Chinese mausoleum is located on the vast Ordos Plateau, 30 kilometers south of
Ejin Horo Banner. It comprises four palaces covering an area of over 50,000
square meters. Two huge flagpoles decorated with nine galloping steeds stand
aloft before the 26-meter-high main palace, symbolizing the Mongol's prosperity
and happiness. There is a tomb here, but it only contains the khan's personal
effects and not his actual remains.

From
the associated press-updated 10/6/2004 10:35:37 AM ET

“TOKYO
— Archaeologists have unearthed the site of Genghis Khan's palace and believe
the long-sought grave of the 13th century Mongolian warrior is somewhere
nearby, the head of the excavation team said Wednesday.

A
Japanese and Mongolian research team found the complex on a grassy steppe 150
miles east of the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator, said Shinpei Kato, professor
emeritus at Tokyo's Kokugakuin University.

Genghis
Khan built the palace in the simple shape of a square tent attached to wooden
columns on the site at around 1200, Kato said.

The
researchers found porcelain buried among the ruins dated to the warrior's era,
helping identify the grounds, Kato said.
A description of the scenery around the palace by a messenger from
China's Southern Tang Dynasty in 1232 also matched the area, he added.”